11 POCO F1 tips, tricks, and hidden features that you should know

POCO F1 is one of the top performing phones when it comes to the performance. The POCO F1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with up to 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage. We have gathered some tips and tricks that will come in handy and help you to get the most out of it. Here they are.

1) Hide Notch

Androids have started moving to the new notch trend which was initially started by Apple iPhone X. POCO F1 by Xiaomi is no exception, nevertheless, there is a way to avoid the notch if you don’t want it.

To hide the notch on POCO F1, go to the Settings and enter Full-screen display. Choose the Hide Screen notch slider which turns the screen notch area to Black color, a black bar will fill the notch area so the notch isn’t visible.

2) Full screen gestures

POCO F1 runs on MIUI 9 based on Android 8.1 Oreo and with the MIUI, there are plenty of features on the phone. There’s a new addition to the system navigation and it’s now easy to navigate on POCO F1. If you aren’t aware of the gesture-based navigation, then you should try it out. The full screen gestures will eliminate the on-screen navigation buttons.

It’s simple, just head to the Settings -> Full-screen display and select the option Full screen gestures. You will be guided with a tutorial on how to use the full screen gestures when you tap learn.

3) Mirror Navigation Buttons

POCO F1 also gives you the option to interchange the back button and recent button. If you are comfortable with either side of the navigation, change it form the same Full screen settings, just enable the slider that says Mirror buttons.

4) Dual Apps

Want to run two WhatsApp accounts or any other apps on the same device? The POCO F1 also allows you to clone an app so you can enjoy dual instances of the app such as two WhatsApp accounts or two separate Instagram accounts.

To run dual apps, go to Settings and swipe to the bottom. Select the Dual apps and under that, enable the apps that you want to clone and use it for your different account.

5) App Lock

One of the best security features on the phone that I find important is to lock apps individually with your fingerprint. If you are using the fingerprint scanner to lock your phone, why not use it for locking the apps.

To lock apps with your fingerprints, enter Security app and App lock or simply search the settings with the ‘App lock‘ phrase.

Under that, you will find a list of apps that can be locked. Choose the ones you want to lock with your fingerprint, that’s it. Now no one can open apps, but you, even when your phone is unlocked.

6) Quick Ball

What exactly is the quick ball? It’s a floating ball with quick shortcuts no matter on which screen you are, you have the access to the ball. The quick ball offers 5 unique shortcuts, Home button, recent apps, lock screen, screenshot, and back button. The shortcuts can be customized form the Quick ball settings. Head to Settings -> Additional settings -> Quick ball -> Select shortcuts.

7) Second Space

Just like new user accounts on a computer, the second space adds a new user with a completely different app environment. The one you see in the primary space won’t bother the second space. Each space has it’s own app environment and storage. To enable second space, go to Settings -> Second Space.

8) Show Connection Speed & Battery Percentage

It’s not just the POCO F1, most Androids are shipped with an interface that does not show battery percentage by default. To enable the battery percentage on POCO F1 display, go to Settings -> Battery -> Power Management as a toggle switch or simply head to the Notifications & status bar in the Settings and enable it from there. This applies to any Xiaomi smartphone running MIUI on Android Oreo.

The status bar at the top is concealed by the notch due to its notch-style design. You won’t be able to view the battery percentage on the status bar, but in the notification panel when you swipe from the top. We aren’t sure if this is a bug or something, but that’s all you have for now. Changing the theme to Sand will enable the battery percentage in the status bar, but not all themes show it.

Same for the connection speed indicator, even when you enable it, you can’t see it in the status bar, you need to swipe the notification panel. To display the connection speed indicator, head to the Settings and scroll down to the System & Device tab. Under that, hit the option Notification & status bar. Choose the option to show the connection speed in the status bar, enable the slider Show connection speed.

9) One-handed mode

One handed mode comes handy when you are using the phone with one hand. POCO F1 offers a one-handed mode and to enable it, go to Settings -> Additional settings -> One-handed mode.

10) Control Autostart

It is necessary to keep your phone clean from apps starting up automatically. When you reboot your phone, a set of apps will launch without your concern and may slow down the device. This can be controlled from the Settings -> Permissions -> Autostart.

From here, disable the apps that you don’t want each time it starts when you reboot the phone.

11) Reading mode

POCO F1 also offers you a reading mode to aid you a better readability during the night. The Reading mode filters out the blue light which is harmful to the eyes. To turn it on, head to the Display Settings and enter Reading mode. Turn on the slider to enable it.

That was all about the tips, tricks, and hidden features of POCO F1. If you know any more of it, shoot them in the comments below.